Sliding doors move along metal, wood, or plastic resin tracks. Sliding doors and windows consist of one or more panels, which slide on one or more tracks, or are suspended from one or more tracks. Each such panel consists of a frame (usually metallic, wooden or plastic) onto which wheels may be attached. The frame typically houses a sheet of glass or plastic, a screen or a set of slats. One or more tracks are supported by a construction element such as a wall, floor or window/door interior casing, forming a smooth plane on which the track is laid.
Typically, a guide rail of the track protrudes in a direction normal to the base of the track, to guide each door or window panel. Typically, to drain water at the window/door bottom interior casing the tracks are made shorter than the window/door bottom interior casing, forming a gap through which water can be drained from the interior of the window casing. Also, slots along the track are usually made to assist in such water drainage.
Traditional sliding window/door track systems tend to collect dirt and are not convenient to clean. The tracks usually employ conspicuous metal rail guides that pose a serious impediment to both foot and wheel traffic. Even in the presumed safety of one's home, the persistence of this awkward structural feature can cause passers-by to trip and fall. In addition, handicapped persons in wheelchairs find it almost impossible to traverse this impediment without able assistance.
A particular sliding door is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application publication number 2006/0143856A1. One of its features is the elimination of the rail guide on the traditional sliding track. The rail guide is replaced by a pair of solid metal rails.